Eye-on-Retail Daily Tipsheet Archives

“Walmart Begins Testing Online Grocery Shopping in Denver” by Sarah Perez at TechCrunch. “Walmart To Go, the retailer’s on-demand shopping service offering home delivery of general merchandise, including in some cases, groceries, is expanding its test in the Denver market today to also include a local pick-up option. Denver area customers will now be able to order their groceries online, then pick up at a nearby store – without having to set foot inside the store.” Read more

“Obama Visits Costco Store Today” by David Jackston at USA Today. “On Wednesday, Obama will speak at a Costco store in Lanham, Md., near Washington, D.C., and at a steel plant in West Mifflin, Pa., near Pittsburgh. He then returns to the White House.” Read more

“Sources: HQ job cuts ongoing at Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club” by Kim Souza at City Wire. “Retail insiders and consultants to Wal-Mart Stores have told The City Wire the annual job elimination drill at corporate headquarters has been ongoing for the past two months with several hundred jobs between Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club home office operations being shaved from the payrolls as fiscal 2014 winds to a close.” Read more

“Banks have replaced 15.3 million cards since Target breach” by Jennifer Bjorhus at Star-Tribune. “U.S. banks have spent more than $153 million so far replacing 15.3 million debit and credit cards after the huge data heist from Target Corp., and the numbers are only growing. The Consumer Bankers Association announced the numbers Tuesday, saying that as more retailers announce breaches, the price tag for banks could grow to “hundreds of millions of dollars, and possibly billions.” Read more

“Wal-Mart to close chain’s only Más Club” by David Kaplan at Chron. “Wal-Mart Stores is closing its one Más Club membership warehouse store, which is located in Houston…Más Club opened as a test format in 2009, she said, and the parent company came to realize that it made more sense to incorporate its best working elements, including some of the merchandise, into traditional Sam’s Clubs in Houston and throughout the U.S.” Read more

“Struggling J.C. Penney amends poison pill provisions” by Maria Halkias at Dallas News. “The company also lowered its poison pill threshold to 4.9 percent from 10 percent…Under the amendments, anyone who acquires at least 4.9 percent of the stock without board approval would trigger an event that dilutes that person or group’s ownership.” Read more

“Amazon Raises Commissions for Low-Priced Goods in Some Categories” by Ina Steiner at Ecommerce Bytes. “Amazon is raising minimum commission fees in some categories in what appears to be an attempt to combat under-pricing on its marketplace. Sellers who list in the Beauty and Health and Personal Care categories received an email notification that explained, “We are writing to notify you that Beauty and Health & Personal Care products will have a new minimum referral fee of $1.00 per item.” Read more

“Home Depot Cat Wins Battle To Keep Her Home” at Inquisitr. “The little black cat became the store’s little pet and lived literally in the store. Well, Home Depot management told the store that the little cat had to go. This news didn’t seem to faze some customers, but to others, it was quite the big deal.” Read more